Your ligaments are tough, elastic-like bands that connect bone to bone and hold your joints in place. A sprain is an injury to a ligament caused by excessive stretching. The ligament can have a partial tear, or it can be completely torn. There are four ligaments in the knee that can be sprained (MCL, LCL, ACL, and PCL).

Of all sprains, ankle and knee sprains occur most often. Sprained ligaments swell rapidly and are painful. Generally, the greater the pain, the more severe the injury is. Most minor sprains can be dealt with rest and home exercises.

Provider Note: Knee sprains respond very well to FDM. We will evaluate the knee with orthopedic tests to rule out more severe injuries, such as tearing of the ligaments or meniscal involvement. If it has been determined that it is only a sprain we will utilize FDM, stretching, and rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the injured knee to prevent reoccurrence. We do not take x-rays, so if an x-ray or MRI is warranted to rule out fracture or ruptured ligaments, we will refer out for imaging.